The Great Depression
U.S. History & Government
Homework Packet
Ms. Vanderpool
Name: _______________________________
Per. ____
Chapter 21, Section 1 p. 702-708
Causes of the Depression
Key terms and people
Herbert Hoover
business cycle
speculation
Black Tuesday
Main Tasks:
1. What economic problems lurked beneath the general prosperity of the 1920s?
2. How did easy credit and buying stock on margin provide both costs and benefits to the U.S.
economy?
3. How did the stock market crash contribute to the onset of the depression?
4. How might Americans react today if hundreds of banks failed?
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Chapter 21, Section 2 p. 709-717
Americans Face Hard Times
Key terms and people
bread line
Dust Bowl
Hooverville
Okies
repatriation
Main Tasks:
1. Complete the graphic organizer below that compares the experiences of those in rural and urban
America.
In Cities
Both
On Farms
2. How did environmental change affect farmers living on the Great Plains during the 1930s?
3. How did the Dust Bowl make life even more difficult for farmers on the Great Plains?
4. How did the depression take a toll on women, children, and minorities in America?
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Chapter 21, Section 3 p. 720-724
Hoover’s Response Fails
Key terms and people
Bonus Army
trickle-down
economics
Main Tasks:
1. Why was Hoover reluctant to have the federal government interfere with the economy?
2. What actions did Herbert Hoover take to fight the effects of the depression?
3. What facts show that Hoover’s policies to reverse the depression failed?
4. Was the Bonus Army justified in its protest? Why or why not?
5. Why did Hoover order the removal of the Bonus Army from its camps?
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Chapter 22, Section 1 p. 732-739
FDR Offers Relief and Recovery
Key terms and people
Franklin D. Roosevelt
CCC
Eleanor Roosevelt
New Deal
fireside chat
FDIC
TVA
Charles Coughlin
Huey Long
Main Tasks:
1. How did FDR’s background and actions help build confidence among the American people?
2. Why did President Roosevelt need his wife, Eleanor, to serve as his “eyes and ears”?
3. How did the programs of the first 100 days benefit both the economy and the environment?
4. Examine the cartoon on page 737. What is the cartoonist saying about the relationship between
the President and Congress?
5. What were the two major criticisms of FDR’s New Deal economic policies?
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Chapter 22, Section 2 p. 740-747
The Second New Deal
Key terms and people
pump priming
Social Security Act
Wagner Act
Fair Labor Standards Act
court packing
Main Tasks:
1. Why did the onset of the depression make it essential to have some form of Social Security?
2. How do you think strikes affected union membership?
3. How did the New Deal affect trade unions?
4. What setbacks did Roosevelt face during his second term as President?
5. Do you think that FDR’s court-packing plan was justified? Explain your answer.
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Chapter 22, Section 3 p. 748-757
Effects of the New Deal
Key terms and people
Black Cabinet
welfare state
Main Tasks:
1. Explain the effect that the New Deal had on the following groups.
Women
African Americans
Native Americans
2. How did New Deal policies affect ethnic and social divisions?
3. Besides giving jobs to the unemployed, describe other ways that PWA and WPA projects might
have helped local economies.
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4. In what ways did the role of the federal government grow during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency?
5. Did the growth in the powers of the federal government during the New Deal benefit the nation?
Explain your answer.
Chapter 22, Section 4 p. 758-762
Culture of the 1930s
Key terms and people
Dorothea Lange
John Steinbeck
Main Tasks:
1. What values did the movies and other popular entertainment of the depression reinforce for
Americans?
2. In what ways did the New Deal support American arts?
3. How did the work of New Deal artists and writers contribute to our appreciation today of the New
Deal?
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